European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors continued to closely watch trade negotiations between the U.S. and major countries across the globe ahead of the July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs.

Earlier this week, the U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of any extension beyond the July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs.

The UK market underperformed as bond yields rose amid political uncertainty after Chancellor Rachel Reeves failed to get support from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The pan European Stoxx 600 claimbed 0.3%. Germany's DAX gained 0.31% and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 1.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended just 0.1% up. Switzerland's SMI ended with a gain of 0.24%.

Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Belgium and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, Glencore rallied more than 6%. Antofagasta, Spirax Group, Anglo American Plc, Ashtead Group, BP, Rio Tinto, Melrose Industries, Mondi, HSBC Holdings, Shell, Admiral Group and Intertek Group also posted strong gains.

Wizz Air Holdings rallied more than 2.5% in early trades today after releasing improved passenger traffic statistics for June. However, the stock pared gains subsequently, and was up just marginally at close.

Bytes Technology Group shares tanked nearly 31% after the software reseller warned of lower first-half profit. Shares of bakery chain Greggs Plc closed 14% down, following a profit warning.

Berkeley Group Holdings tumbled nearly 8% and Persimmon closed 6.8% down. Natwest Group, Convatec Group, Land Securities, Marks & Spencer, Barratt Redrow, Unite Group, Next, Babcock International and Taylor Wimpey lost 4.4 to 5.5%.

National Grid, Lloyds Banking Group, Phoenix Group Holdings, Segro, Howden Joinery and Severn Trent also declined sharply.

In the German market, BMW rallied about 5%. Daimler Truck Holding, Commerzbank, BASF, Porsche, Sartorius and Volkswagen gained 2 to 4%.

Infineon, Siemens, Brenntag, Deutsche Bank, Munich RE, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas and Continental also ended with impressive gains.

Vonovia, Zalando, Deutsche Boerse, E.ON, Qiagen, Henkel and Siemens Energy closed weak.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal climbed nearly 6% and STMicroElectronics gained about 5.3%. LVMH, Kering, Edenred, Renault, Teleperformance, Pernod Ricard, Credit Agricole, TotalEnergies, BNP Paribas and Accor advanced 1.7 to 4.5%.

Danone, Unibail Rodamco, AXA and Engie closed weak.

In economic news, data from Eurostat showed that the unemployment rate in the Euro Area rose to 6.3% in May 2025 from a record low of 6.2% in April, above market expectations of 6.2%. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate, reflecting those under 25 seeking employment, went up to 14.4% from a downwardly revised 14.4% in the prior month.